It’s time to go Bowling
Eight champions to be crowned today
State football championships will be contested throughout Massachusetts today.
The epicenter is Gillette Stadium where six of the Super Bowl games are being played. The early bird special is the Division 3A Super Bowl (9 a.m.) between East Bridgewater and St. Mary’s, a rematch of last year’s state semifinal won by the Vikings, 26-18.
Hanover and Grafton will follow in the Div. 3 Super Bowl (11 a.m.), then Mashpee and Wahconah vie for the Div. 4 Super Bowl crown at 1:30 p.m. The battle of the unbeaten pits Falmouth and Marblehead at 3:30 p.m. for the Div. 2A Super Bowl title. Duxbury and Shrewsbury compete in the Div. 2 Super Bowl (6 p.m.), before King Philip and Reading wrap it up in the Div. 1A Super Bowl at 8 p.m.
“It’s one of my favorite days of the year,” said former Whitman-Hanson and Pembroke coaching legend Bob Bancroft. “It reminds me of the old Tech Tournament at the Boston Garden where you could sit and watch basketball all day long.”
The first four games will air on Comcast SportsNet and the final two on NECN. The games will also be simulcast on 98.5 The Sports Hub.
The Herald will once again provide a live interactive chat throughout the day in which its reporters will be delivering reports from all three venues.
Manning Field in Lynn will host the Div. 1 showdown between Everett and Xaverian at 1 p.m. The teams met in September with Xaverian winning, 1714. This is also the fifth time the two teams have met in the Super Bowl with the Hawks prevailing in each of the previous four meetings (1996, 1998, 2009, 2014).
“The rivalry has become more intense in recent years because of Everett’s success,” Xaverian coach Charlie Stevenson said. “We know it and our kids know that we’re going to have to have our best game or else they’re going to beat us.”
The Div. 4A Super Bowl between Millis and Maynard will be played at Worcester State with a noon kickoff. The Mohawks are undefeated in three prior trips to the big dance (1980, 1994 and 1999), while the Tigers are seeking their first Super Bowl title.